


Our Crimes

by MiyaBlack



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Badass Keith, M/M, Plot Twists, don't worry about them, klance, ocs just to fill, pinning denial, still pinning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-15
Updated: 2017-03-15
Packaged: 2018-10-05 08:34:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10302476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiyaBlack/pseuds/MiyaBlack
Summary: Lance was not were he should be. And he doesn't think about it.Keith needs him back. But he can't think about it. He just has to keep pushing forward.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for any spelling mistakes, I have to constantly battle the autocorrector that wants me to write in Spanish. 
> 
> This is my first work for the Voltron fandom and of course Klance because I have no chill and yeah. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Lance stretched, the sea breeze almost purifying to his lungs. It hadn’t been that long, really, but it truly felt like ages. His home stood in a row of similar homes, though all of them were painted in different bright colours, fruit trees of all kinds swaying in the breeze and it almost hurted how much he’d missed this.  
  
“Ready, baby?”  
  
The voice made him turn around, a smile on his face. For a moment, his heart twisted in discomfort, but there was no reason for it to do so, so he ignored it.  
  
“You got here just as I was leaving home, what are you, telepathic now?” he asked laughing.  
  
Her laughter rang like little bells, soft and soothing. “One of my many secrets.” she assured him as he walked up to her and kissed her forehead, surrounding her with his arms. And it felt…. Odd. Warm, but odd. Her brown hair was soft and she smelt of flowers… But she felt… too small to be right? The top of her head barely reached his shoulder, and he knew he was tall, but hadn’t she been taller before?...  
  
“And don’t forget to bring the tomatoes for dinner! Last time-!” His mother’s voice dragged him out of his thoughts.  
  
“I know, amá!” he quickly replied, cutting her off, blushing.  
  
“Good morning, Mrs. McClain!” Anna called out to his mother, waving at her.  
  
His mother’s face light up, waving back from behind the front window of their house. “Hello, dear! Have fun and make sure he gets home in time! You can come to dinner if you want, too! You’re always invited!”  
  
“That’d be great, I-!”  
  
“Don’t encourage her!” Lance hissed mortified, starting to pull her along. “I’ll be back in time, amá, don’t worry. If you need anything, I have my phone with me!”  
  
“Dinner sounds nice.” Anna pouted up at him.  
  
“My brother and his wife and his kids are coming for dinner. Are you sure?” he asked, raising one eyebrow, a mocking smile on his face.  
  
She paled notedly at that. She still remembered last time that disaster happened. “Oh yeah… Um… Maybe some other time.”  
  
Lance knew it wasn’t because she disliked his family, but his nieces and nephews could be quite a handful.  
  
They walked down the street of the coastal city, enjoying the sound of the waves and the ocean, hand in hand.  
  
“You remember I told you my cousin’s wedding is next weekend, right?” Anna asked suddenly.  
  
Lance laughed, “You haven’t really given me a chance to forget, darling.” For a month she had been mentioning it every time they saw each other.  
  
“And you are coming as my plus one, right?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously.  
  
“It is my honour and my duty, princess.” he said jokingly, to which she laughed and slightly pushed him aside.  
  
“No but, seriously. It’s just that my mom…” she continued on with her story about how her sister had a matching dress to her husband’s tie and her mom wanted her to do the same, but his mind started drifting for a moment. He had said that phrase as a joke, but something in his mind had clicked and sadness had poured over him. A deep sadness and regret and emptiness. He’d had a duty and…  
  
“Lance, are you listening to me? What’s wrong?” Anna asked, tilting her head, hazel eyes studying him carefully.  
  
Lance hesitated for a moment, trying to retain his train of thought… but it’d been too late, his own mind pushing it back into his memories. “Nothing. Nothing’s wrong. Just remembering I have laundry turn when I get back home.” he replied, sighing.  
  
“Oh, and don’t the twins have rehearsal today?”  
  
“Oh, yeah, thanks for reminding me. I’m gonna be up ‘till who knows what hour, hand washing tutus. Hoo-fucking-ray.” he moaned, already dreading the chore.  
  
“You’ll survive. Come on, I want to show you the dress I was thinking of buying.”  
  
  


* * *

 

 

“Keith, two coming from behind you!”  
  
Pidge hadn’t even finished her warning when a blast came alarmingly close to his ear. “A little earlier warning would’ve been appreciated!” he yelled back, taking one of the blasters on the floor and taking them both out with one shot each. He bit his tongue to keep from yelling out at Lance to show off.  
  
He wouldn’t receive an answer.  
  
“Come on.” Shiro called to him from the other side of the hallway, where they had been hiding behind columns to get rid of the sentry guards that had been trying to stop them. They had gotten rid of this lot, but surely another one would be on their way in a matter of seconds.  
  
“Go right, now. Another squad is coming.” Pidge’s voice said urgently in their helmets.  
  
“Roger.”  
  
Keith moved forward, pushing the thoughts of blue eyes and bad puns to the back of his head. He couldn’t think about that right now. He couldn’t get distracted, not even for a second, or it could get him and Shiro both killed. He’d been telling himself the same thing in every mission ever since Lance…  
  
He bit the inside of his cheek until he drew blood. Mission now, feeling later.

 

* * *

  
  
They sat on a small coffee shop, near the biggest window, which faced the ocean.  
  
“So you like the blue one better?” Anna asked, cradling her cup of tea, eyes lost on the waves.  
  
“Kinda. But you liked the red one better, huh?” Lance had asked for the sugariest coffee on the menu, half expecting Anna to mock him for it, but she just shrugged, saying that it was what he always asked for.

 

He sat in front of her, carefully studying her face while she drank. She had a cute kind of roundish face. Warm hazel eyes and freckles. Her hair was long, a very light brown and she often braided it to keep it off her face. And he remembered why he had liked her from the get go. She was cute and warm and everything he had ever wanted in a girlfriend.  
  
“Nah. I think I like the blue one too. I don’t really like red.” she replied calmly, taking a sip of tea.  
  
“Oh.” And why this gave Lance an uncomfortable twist on his stomach, he couldn’t tell. He could no longer look at her face for some reason. He turned to the other side, towards the street that could be seen on the other side of the shop. Cars rolled by in the traffic, everyone coming and going, a pretty busy day for a calm coastal city…  
  
And then he saw him.  
  
The motorcycle went by slowly, dodging the traffic, the rider’s black boots touching the ground when he couldn’t move forward. He couldn’t see the face, but he could see a batch of black hair on the back of his head over a red jacket. Who even uses a mullet these days?  
  
“Lance? Lance? Hellooo, Earth to Lance!”  
  
Lance blinked, confused for a second, just enough for the bike and his rider to move forward in the traffic and out of his sight.  
  
“Oh, sorry, I thought I saw someone…” he muttered, tearing his eyes from the window and back to look at Anna, a small smile on his lips. “Sorry, love. What were you saying?”

 

She shook her head, a fond smile on her face. “Keep this up and one of these days you’re gonna run face first into a tree.” she laughed, pulling back black strands of hair from her face.  
  
“So, your hair?” he asked, trying to keep up with the conversation, feeling a little confused.  
  
“Yeah, I wanted to dye the end of it red, but mom wants me to wait until after the wedding… But wouldn’t it look awesome with the red dress?” she asked, running her fingers through her long, black hair, which hung loose over her shoulders.  
  
“Well you haven’t bought it yet.” he pointed out, shrugging his shoulders. And even if the words were easily flowing through his lips, he felt a very twisted and wrong sense of deja vu, like something wasn’t… right.  
  
“But I’m going to! It’s the one that I liked the best! And wouldn’t a red dress look awesome with my new red hair?” she asked drinking from her cup of coffee.  
  
“It would look pretty cool.” he agreed, crossing his arms in front of him. “But your mom will have your head and mine too, once she’s at it.”  
  
She laughed out loud at that. “You’re out of it, babe. She adores you. A Garrison Pilot for her daugher? It’s one of the few choices of mine she’s liked.”  
  
“Yeah, well.” he tried laughing at that, but couldn’t really find the stomach to do so.  


* * *

  
  
“Send the whole damn ship at them if you have to! We need more time!”  
  
“They’ve cut the lower levels from the higher levels. Most of our soldiers are down there and unless they jump through space-”  
  
“Then do it! They can’t be allowed to reach us! Not yet!”  


* * *

  
  
“Why is this so damned bulky?” Lance groaned under the bag that held Anna’s red dress.  
  
She laughed, holding some other bags in her own arms. “I can help you with that if it’s too much.”  
  
“It’s not that it’s heavy.” he explained, trying to keep the dress from falling from his arms and into the floor, which would mean certain doom for him. “It’s just so much fabric and poof and... ribbons? I don’t know”  
  
They both laughed at his description and Anna gently placed her hand on the small of his back. “Come on, soldier, we’re almost there.” she chirped, kissing his shoulder to encourage him.  
  
He slightly turned to her, smiling. “You owe me one.”  
  
She rolled her eyes dramatically and laughed. “Oh, yeah, totally. Whenever you need me to carry your dresses for you, I’ll happily do so.”  
  
They finally arrived at her apartment complex and she opened the door for him. Luckily, she lived on the second floor, so he just had to climb just one set of stairs. By the time they finally got into her apartment, he felt like throwing the dress to the floor, but she’d probably kill him, so he gently placed it over the sofa.  
  
“There. Oooff… That thing’s too hot. Are you sure you’re not gonna die from dehydration or something wearing it?” he asked, dropping to the floor, sighing content as the cold floor touched his back and arms.  
  
He heard Anna reply something from the kitchen, but he couldn’t really hear it over the fluff and paws that decided to assault his face.  
  
“Anna, your cat is trying to suffocate me-!!” he called to her, but got a mouthful of hair instead.  
  
“Meeoooowww”  
  
He laughed, picking up the cat and placing her over his chest. “Hey, Blue.” he greeted her, scratching behind her ears, making her purr.  
  
“Cat attack?” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
“I swear!” he said, not rising from the floor. “She got her whole paw in my mouth before you got here!”  
  
She just laughed, shaking her head. “Don’t you go around falsely accusing my cat of murder, McClance.”  
  
Anna disappeared once more into the kitchen and he finally sat up from the floor, now holding the cat in his lap, caringly patting it. He’d always liked her, and more than Anna’s cat, it was more like their cat. He’d found it during a storm, small and mewing desperately for a parent that was not coming.  
  
They’d both taken care of it, but since his younger sister was allergic to cats, they’d decided to keep it in her appartment.  
  
Blue was mostly white but had boots and a kind of mask in a greyish-blue color and she was wearing a pretty red collar they’d bought together for her. She meowed at him, since he’d stopped petting her, demanding him to continue. He laughed softly, and scratched behind her ears once more. “Cheeky little girl…” he muttered at her.  
  
And before he could stop it, a thought flashed through his mind. Why had Blue chosen him?  
  
His smile faltered, and he stared, somewhat confused at the cat in his lap. “Why did you choose me?” he asked in a soft voice, staring at the cat, a deep sadness settling in his heart.

 

* * *

  
Allura stood in her control panel, different camera views popped up in front of her, all fed to the castle from Pidge’s hacking into the Galra’s ship main computer. She could see Keith and Shiro hiding behind some corridor, signaling at each other, one breath away from being discovered by a whole squadron. In another screen, she could see Pidge, typing furiously at the main computer, hidden behind the main desk panel. Hunk was not far from her, but he was in another screen, guarding the entrance to the room where the green paladin was working.  
  
A small alarm made her look up from the info that Pidge had been streaming into the castle. Coran typed into his own console in front of her and then turned to her, eyes wide.  
  
“Princess, the Blue Lion is waking up.” he informed, typing some more and sending a video to her.  
  
She looked at the feed, a small flame of hope starting to burn in her chest. They had been searching for a while… And maybe Blue was reacting to a paladin. A new one. She dare not think of any other alternative.  
  
“Should... Should I open the bay door?” Coran asked, looking up at her, clearly being more optimistic than she was about the lion’s behaviour. “We clipped the communication between the soldier’s quarters and the bay, they shouldn’t be able to scramble and-”  
  
“Hunk, come in.” Allura called into the comm in her helmet.  
  
“Hunk here.” he called back, and she could see him pressing his helmet to his ear to her her properly.  
  
“How far are you from your lion? In case of emergency?” she asked, a small plan forming in her head. She would not risk a pilot-less lion near an enemy spaceship if she could help it. And it was definitely out of the question if she couldn’t provide a quick back up for it in the worst case scenario. Sure, the lions could pilot themselves for a bit, but they were in no way adapted for a long fight without a paladin.  
  
“Pidge? How is my path back to Yellow?” he asked, peeking into the control room.  
  
“Er… about a five minute run if we’re lucky and the squads nearby are still distracted by Keith and Shiro.” she replied, navigating the digital map she had before her.  
  
“Oh, sure, send them our way. We’ll distract them. We have so much free time right no-” Keith began, sarcastically but was cut off since he had to duck quickly. “Damnit, these guys are everywhere!”  
  
“Well we are in their ship…” Shiro replied with a small smile, shrugging his shoulders, even if he was also taking cover.  
  
“Short answer, and with some luck, about five minutes, Allura.” Hunk replied into his helmet.  
  
Allura hummed for a second, her eyes focused on the screen that showed the Blue Lion pushing against the bay door with the top of her head and then looking back at the camera and then back to pushing.  
  
She sighed softly, “I hope I don’t regret this…” she whispered to herself, and then in a louder voice continued. “Paladins! It seems that the Blue Lion has detected… something. We are letting it loose to see where it’ll go. Maybe it can lead us to…something.”  
  
There was radio silence for a second, while they all processed it, and the immediate feedback was almost too overwhelming.  
  
“You mean that Lance is in this ship?!”  
  
“Can Blue even detect him at that distance? How?”  
  
“It could be it’s detecting a new paladin…”  
  
“Shut up! It’s Lance! I know you never like him, Keith, but-!”  
  
“Who ever said I didn’t?!”

 

“Everyone SHUT UP”

  
  
Allura thanked all of the gods for Shiro.  
  
“Listen, we all miss Lance, but there’s no point arguing about the chances.” he said, in a definitive tone that meant that all further argument would not be tolerated. “Now, Allura. Please, release the Blue Lion and keep us informed. Wherever she is going I think we should check.”  
  
There was a small silence which was finally cut short. “Bay doors open. The Blue Lion has launched.”  


* * *

  
  
“What nonsense are you telling my cat, Lance?” Anna asked amused, coming back from the kitchen with a sweating cold glass of lemonade.  
  
“Oh, I think I fell in love with you a bit more.” Lance gasped gratefully, taking the glass and almost drinking half of it in one go. Space goo really didn’t have anything on good Earth food. Yet, he had no idea what space goo was.  
  
“Woah, calm down there, tiger. You’re gonna choke or something.”  
  
“Sorry, I was a bit thirsty.” he replied with a grin. “Well… I was just thinking… How lucky is it that I found Blue…? I mean, so much has happened since I found her and…” he wasn’t really sure what he was talking about, but it felt important. He patted her on the head gently.  
  
“Since we found her..?” Anna asked, rising one of her eyebrows.  
  
“Yeah, well… She’s grown and I… we’ve grown and… I don’t know. Calling it fate sounds cheesy, but…” He felt he’d changed. The whole team had changed. All of...  
  
Anna chuckled fondly and sat next to him, nuzzling his neck, interrupting his thoughts. “A little bit cheesy, yeah.”  
  
Lance laughed a bit, feeling strangely uncomfortable with her proximity… As if it was something new.  
  
He suddenly felt pain bursting on the back of his head.  
  
“Ow, ow, ow!” he screeched, placing his hand behind his head, rubbing over the sensitive area, feeling somewhat dizzy.  
  
“Hey, you okay? Brainfreeze?” Anne asked, giggling.  
  
“I-”  
  
She reached up to him, easily doing so, since she was sitting in his lap, and rubbed at his head too. “That’s what you get for drinking the whole glass in one go, dumbut.”  
  
“Wha… where’s Blue?” he asked, confused. Hadn’t the cat been here just a few seconds ago...?  
  
“Who?”  
  
“Little fuzzball we rescued…?” he asked, one of his eyes shut tight from the pain.  
  
“Oh, Kiki? She’s lounging in the window. She’s not very fond of you, love, remember?” Anne asked smiling a bit confused at him. “Are you sure you’re okay?”  
  
“I… don’t know…” Lance admitted, looking sideways at the window where a long black cat laid, looking at him through narrow eyes. And Anna was right, they’d found that black mess in a box during a storm. He’d tried to pick him up, but almost lost a finger in the process. It had only allowed Anna to carry him. They actually had a kind of a rivalry over Anna’s affections.  
  
“Do you want something for your head?” she asked, leaning into him. He’d always liked the fact that she was just a bit shorter than him. It felt right. He leaned into her too, enjoying the way her black hair smelled like the ocean.  
  
“Maybe it was a heatstroke caused from carrying your dress.” he sighed against her shoulder.

 

“Aww, poor baby. Do you want some more lemonade? Only if you promise not to down it all in one go like a maniac, though.”  
  
He laughed softly, shrugging. “Fine, fine. I won’t. And something for my head would be cool too.”  
  
“Cool.”  
  
He blinked a few times at the familiarity of the response. “What did you say?”  
  
“I said ‘okay’. You’re starting to worry me, Lanlan.” Anne said, frowning slowly.  
  
“Oh no, I just thought you’d said… Forget it, I’m okay. It might as well just be a migraine.”  
  
Anna winced. “Ooh, that would suck. The day is awesome and perfect for swimming.”  
  
“Yeah…” Lance muttered, standing up from the floor, sending Kiki one last confused look and then walking over to the balcony. He leaned over the railing, arms crossed, losing himself to the sound of the waves and the different tones of blue shifting within them. He adored the ocean, always thought he was built for it. They were built for it. He still remembered how well she had moved within the water. Not even in space had she been more graceful, more powerful, more coordinated.  
  
“Here, fish brain. Drink this, it’ll help.” Anna said softly from behind him. He turned to look at her from over his shoulder and for a moment, did not recognize her. Maybe there was something wrong with him.  
  
“Thanks.” he said, slowly, turning around and accepting the drink and a small white pill.  
  
“So, I was thinking about the wedding, you know, tomorrow?” She started going on and on about their plans and at what time he should be there to pick her up and how they should take a cab so her makeup and his hair would get ruined. He absentmindedly nodded, pill still in one hand and lemonade, untouched on the other.  
  
“Drink that. Now, Mama said we should be at the ceremony around 3, but I know she says that just so we won’t be late, since it starts at 4, but…”  
  
She kept talking, but something else was occupying Lance’s mind. It was warm and soft and natural. Like a hug from a sister… but on his mind… or soul… or being. Which was waaaaay strange.  
  
He started raising the pill to his mouth, worrying that maybe something was really wrong with him, but stopped just as it touched his lips. The hug tightened slightly, as if it was worried, as if it wanted to stop him.  
  
“And… Did you take the pill?” Anna asked as he started drinking from the glass.  
  
“Mhhm.” he replied, drinking the lemonade slowly as he hid the pill on the hand holding the glass. It didn’t taste as fresh or good as the first glass.  
  
“Lemme see.” she insisted, suspiciously.  
  
Lance rolled his eyes, but opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. “Am not a baby anymore, Anna.” he said drily.  
  
“You sometimes can be. Any way. So I was thinking we could get to the reception with my brother and-”  
  
_Hold me. Don’t let go. I need to find you._  
  
The embrace now felt as if it was tugging slightly, looking for attention.  
  
_I’m here._

* * *

 

“The Blue Lion has stopped. It has found it’s target but it’s not engaging. It’s almost… waiting?” Allura’s voice came in through the con in their helmets.  
  
“Where?” Shiro asked quickly as he tried to keep up with Keith, who was running up a corridor, almost too impatient to wait for instructions.  


“Two floors above you.” This time it was Pidge relying the information.  
  
Keith was being careless, he knew. He was rushing. But he couldn’t help himself. He had to know. How close were they? And could it really be Lance? He wanted to deny that little spark of hope from nestling in his chest, but his heart was already beating faster. To hell with it.  
  
“Where are the squads, Pidge?” Shrio asked as he grabbed Keith by the neck of his armor to keep him from running up a hallway before really checking for any Galra.  
  
“Ooof! Shiro, ow- Lemme go.” he hissed back at his captain but just got a glare that made him stop while Pidge made some reconnaissance for them. He was practically squirming and twitching to keep moving, but his leader would not move without more information.  
  
“One squad on the floor below you. Some are going down the stairs on the port bow. You should be safe from them.”  
  
“Are the prisoner quarters being guarded?” Shiro asked, arm in front of Keith to stop the other from suddenly jumping up and running away.  
  
They could hear a few clicks and then Pidge’s voice came back to his ears. “Yeah.”  
  
“We can take a few guards out. I’ll take a whole squad myself if I have to.” Keith hissed, frowning.  
  
“It’s an open space, Keith.” Pidge added quickly. “If you walk in through the floor you’re in you’ll practically be a target practice for the Galra.”  
  
Shiro nodded and Keith groaned. “Two more floors, then.”  


* * *

  
  
“Sire, we’ve been boarded. It’s just a matter of time.”  
  
“Then make more time!”  
  
“If I may, sir…”  
  
“No you may not! If you’re so worried about it, then go out there and stop those damn Lions and stop interfering with my work!”  


* * *

  
  
Hunk could see the Blue Lion, floating perfectly still in space, staring intently into a particular spot in the ship. He tilted his head to the side, confused. It almost seemed as if it was smelling the ship, looking for something familiar. And then a bright purple explosion pushed it to the side.  
  
“The Galra have launched fighters!” Allura warned the others. “Hunk, the Blue-”  
  
“I know, I know!” he replied quickly, transforming his bayard and rushing to the hallway that would take him to Yellow.  
  
“How? I made sure to lock all the doors to their main hangar and-” he could feel Pidge chirping annoyed.  
  
“Well, they maybe have a secondary hangar or something. The fighters came out of somewhere!” Hunk yelled, running as fast as he could to his own Lion. “Open up, big guy! We have some fighters to down!” he called to it, heart in his throat as he arrived at the small bay where they’d parked.  
  
Yellow opened up quickly, almost as if he was also worried and could sense the urgency and adrenaline of his paladin.  
  
“Hunk is right. They must’ve come from somewhere.” Allura agreed as he maneuvered Yellow out of the bay and out into space. He knew he wasn’t the fastest or most skilled pilot amongst them, and he would probably fare better against one huge spaceship instead of a dozen of small ones, but everyone else had their work cut out for them. And this was his part.  
  
He grabbed one ship with his mouth and knocked two against each other with a swipe from his paw, but they seemed to understand that the main advantage they had over him was mobility and agility. And they were using it.  
  
“I hate… small ships!” he hissed, annoyed. He could see Three enemy ships in his radar and he was not going to be able to deflect them on time. He diverted all of his shield to his back, trying to avoid the most damage when a white blinding flash destroyed the three of them, leaving Hunk a bit startled over the sudden backup.  
  
“We’ll provide support from the castle, not to worry!” Coran hooted over the coms and a smile spreaded over Hunk’s face.  
  
“Thanks man!”  
  
Blue was still floating perfectly still, facing the ship, as if waiting for her paladin to come out any moment. She had been deflecting attacks with her shields, but Hunk knew that if it wasn’t for them, she wouldn’t have lasted much more.  
  
“Guys I can handle things here, just make sure to find out what ever has Blue like this and go ho-”  
  
“Oh, quiznack.” The princesses’ voice had dropped, and they could all practically hear the fear in her.  
  
“What’s going on out there?” Shiro asked urgently.  
  
Hunk looked up from the Galran ship that he’d been tearing apart to find exactly what Allura had seen and his stomach dropped.  
  
“Guuuys! I think I know where the ships came from! And that whole thing about me handling this? Yeah, no longer possible!” he called, trying to keep his voice steady, but even he could hear his voice crack in worry.  
  
“Paladins! Incoming battleship! Fully armed! We have to get out of here, now!” Allura called to them, urgently and her tone leaving no space for argument.  


* * *

  
  
“Sire, the G.S. Gaftaria has just arrived. They picked up our distress signal. The paladins are still onboard, but I doubt they’ll be able to reach us.”  
  
A low cackle echoed through the dark room, which was only illuminated by some screens and a cryogen tube filled with a purple liquid which bubbled now and then.  
  
“So close and yet so far. It seems we’ll remain together for a while more, little cub.”  
  
A low alarm beeped twice, making him turn away from the cryogen tube.  
  
“What now?” he asked annoyed at one of the Galra who had been typing at the machine.  
  
“Something is interfering again. This time, it’s stronger.”  
  
“That damned Lion…”  


* * *

  
  
Lance was known to brag about many of his abilities, not always being entirely truthful… But he never had to exaggerate his dancing abilities. He didn’t have to. He was good.  
  
Anna laughed merrily, her short black hair framing her face perfectly, her red dress trailing behind her as he spined her in his arms. They had little space in the dance floor, since everyone and their grandmother was dancing, but that was part of the fun. That’s how a wedding should be like, at least in his experience.  
  
The songs were lively and cheerful and people yelled and sang. He had danced with Anna, with  the bride, Jessica (Anna’s sister), with their mother (a bit embarrassing, but still fun), with one of Anna’s younger cousins… He had practically not stopped dancing since the music started.  
  
The rhythmic beat slowed down to a softer song, and he pulled Anna closer, smiling like an idiot.  
  
“This is… a blast. I think it’s been one of the best days of my life.” she whispered, so only he could hear her, her dark grey eyes looking at him, lovingly.  
  
“Even if your sister threw cake at you?” he asked, laughing softly.  
  
“Especially because she threw cake at me.” it had all degraded into a small cake fight between siblings that had even dragged the poor groom and Lance into it.  
  
He barely had to lean down to press his forehead to hers, since she was almost as tall as him. “Funny, I would’ve thought your mom would’ve wanted a traditional Korean wedding.” he muttered, eyes closed.  
  
“She did… But I don’t see her complaining right now.”  
  
He chuckled softly, following the rhythm of the song, pulling her along with him.  
  
“Would you like a traditional Korean wedding?” he asked, and maybe started to feel a bit dizzy. He shouldn’t have accepted that drinking challenge from Anna’s cousins. Those guys were mental.  
  
“You would look funny in a gat.” she pointed out, chuckling.  
  
Something was… not right. He felt that embrace again, but this time, it was almost urgent. A wave of nausea washed over him, but thankfully Keith was there to keep him from swooning like a damned princess…  
  
“Hey, hey, are you ok?” Anna asked holding him closer to her, letting him lean against her.  
  
“Yeah, just… Your cousins are monsters.” he was probably green all over. “I need some fresh air.”  
  
“Oh, Lance, I told you not to take their dare…” she muttered as she helped him leave the dance floor and through the doors of the hall where the wedding was being celebrated.  
  
“I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine…” he pushed away from her, leaning against the railing as he slid down onto the floor, head falling back.  
  
It was around 1:30 in the morning, so the sky was dark, dusted with stars…. And they felt so far away… And some part of him screamed that he should be there… not here… Whatever that meant.  
  
“I always want to join you when you’re in the observatory, you know?” he whispered, though he was sure that Keith could hear him.  
  
“What observatory?” Anna asked confused.  
  
“You alway can.” she added quickly, before Lance was really able to process her words.  
  
“Nah. You always seem so into yourself. So peaceful. Out there you’re all like cool and wham and bam!” he tried explaining, soggily raising his hands, imitating an explosion. “But when you’re there, just sitting in front of the crystal, just looking out… You look like a different person.”  
  
“Which one do you prefer?” Anna asked, sitting besides him, looking at him earnestly. “I can be whichever you like the best.”  
  
He chuckled, his mind foggy and confused, but he still found it funny. The answer was so obvious. “I just want you Keith.”  
  
“Then, you c-”  
  
_“Lance is in there, we can’t leave yet!”  
  
“You don’t know if it is Lance! It could be a new paladin! Do you really want to find a new paladin?!”_  
  
“-an have me.”  
  
A pang of pain blasted through his head, ripping a scream out of him.  
  
_Wake up, wake up, wake up!!  
  
“How is that damned thing transmitting here?!”  
  
“It’s connecting to him, sire!”  
  
_ “I’m here, Lance! I’m here, stay with me!” Anna called to him, tears falling from her eyes… Though they weren’t really hers. They had given her his eyes, his dark grey eyes. He didn’t like them in her face. He pushed away from her, not sure where to, but out. He needed out.  
  
_We need you back! They’re all here for you!  
  
“We could always find this ship again and-”  
  
“No! It would be too late!”  
  
“Are you sure, Pidge?!”  
  
“That is the pulse of a human being, I’m a hundred percent sure!”  
  
“Sire, we’ve been hacked!”  
  
_ The voices were beyond painful. They were tearing his head apart. He grabbed at his head, trying to make it stop, trying to hide from the noise, the urgency.  
  
_“We’re losing him, sire!”  
  
“Call all fighters to focus attack that damned Lion! We are too close to finally cracking his mind, we can’t lose him!”  
  
Don’t push me out. Hold on to me. Hold on to the pain. _  
  
“But it hurts…” Lance whined, tears in his eyes.  
  
_I know, I know, but hold it. They’re almost there. They’re almost-_  
  
And then there was silence.  
  
“No. No no no no!” the pain was gone, but she was right. He had to keep it going. It was their connection. Blue was calling out to him, and now he had to call out to her. “Blue! Blue, come back!”  
  
He started thrashing, pushing against the darkness, and it started pushing against him. Almost like a liquid.  
  
Out, out, out! He needed out!  
  
\--  
  
Shiro had left for his Lion, but Keith had kept going. They’d agreed that, whoever was captive in this ship, was human and, therefore, had to be rescued.  
  
“Left, hallway, third door to your right!” Pidge’s instructions were short and almost incomprehensible, but she was directing him as she fought besides Hunk, so Keith did not complain and did as he was told.  
  
As soon as he turned left, he was greeted by at least half a dozen Galra soldiers. But he was ready, bayard out, shield up; and they were not. He dove into them, yelling, pushing, slicing. He was so close. He could see the door. And he knew Lance was in there.  
  
“Out. Of. My. Way!” he slammed against another soldier, pushing him against the wall and effectively knocking him out. It had been a rush of adrenaline, but nobody could dare tell him he didn’t care about Lance. He’d just knocked out an entire guard just to see his dumb face again.  
  
He made quick work of the door using some explosives and hiding behind a column until he heard the noise of the heavy metal door falling into the floor. He didn’t even flinch as he took out the two soldiers that came running out of the room at him.  
  
He walked into the dark room, freezing into place immediately.  
  
“I do believe it would be wise for you to stay where you are, paladin.” the Galra, which seemed to be a commander hissed at him.  
  
Keith wouldn’t have hesitated in doing the exact opposite if it hadn’t been for the fact that the bastard held Lance’s limp body in his arms, dagger held against his bare neck.  
  
He actually growled and the commander laughed. “You do recognize him, don’t you? It’s just that we’ve had him for so long… But don’t worry, this is your little missing paladin.” the Galra assured him, delighted by how much Keith’s eyes seeped with rage and hate.  
  
“Now, what’s going to happen is that you’re going to back off and let me through. And I’m taking your little friend with me. I have to say I’ve gotten pretty fond of this one and his screams.”  
  
Keith was not quite sure himself how he was staying still when practically every muscle in his body was ready to pounce at the bastard and rip his fucking throat out…  
  
“Or…” the Galra added, watching with some boredom as Keith stood his ground. “You could just keep blocking my path and I’ll just slice his throat and escape while you cradle your dying friend in your arms.”  
  
Despite what some people might think, Keith rarely hates anyone, he can’t really be bothered to. Sure, Lance had a way to get under his skin, but he just did exactly the opposite of hating the blue paladin. But this Galra commander standing in front of him was worth every damned ounce of his hate. Smug bastard thought he had everything under control… But he didn’t.  
  
It was something as simple as an simple as an open communication channel and the fact that he was not alone. He had friends to warn him of the oncoming explosion, which shook the entire ship. The Galra commander did not.  
  
“Keith, incoming! To your location!”  
  
It was a movement that took less than a second, a stance which he’d practiced a thousand times in the training room. And as the Galran fell back, trying to regain his footing, he threw himself forward, shield first, knocking the dagger out of his hands, sword came later, stabbing him squarely in the chest. Dark blood gushed forward, staining him and Lance.  
  
“Wha… How…” the commander croaked, impaled to the wall with Keith’s sword. The red paladin simply reached down to carefully pick up his teammate and retrieve his bayard, not before twisting it to make sure that the Galra would not stand up.  
  
“I think there’s someone who’d like to meet you.” Keith hissed as he closed the door to the room. He didn't need to be able to see, he heard Blue tearing the room up, along with the commander within it.   
  
They were still in deep trouble (when weren't they?) but at least he had Lance with him.  
  
"I've got him guys. Red is coming my way. Let's get out of here."


End file.
